A Chance Encounter
by EternalRose34
Summary: Trying to escape the grief caused by losing her father, Sakura Haruno meets the youngest Uchiha when he interrupts her peace. Thinking he was someone she does the only thing she can do. Make him fall flat on his back, unconscious, lying in a puddle. After realizing who he is she has only one thing running through her mind. Crap. AU. Sakura/Sasuke
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

It had been several weeks since the young Haruno Sakura had visited what she had deemed as 'her place'. She had tried only once since the accident, but the usual calm feeling that would wash over her had been mysteriously absent.

Not so mysterious, she would later think. The glum atmosphere that had taken hold of her home and family had seeped so far into her bones, into her once lively and cheerful heart, that nothing could have shaken her from the cold and desolate grip that had consumed her.

Now though, weeks later, she believed that it would once again bring the soothing calmness that she had so longed for.

This time she would not just escape from the endless rambles from her mother, nor would she be escaping the whining of her younger brothers - which were admittedly reasonable lately - but it was now an escape from all the sadness. All the pain.

Haruno Satoshi, well known jokester, war hero and all together good man; but most importantly her beloved father, was dead.

There could not have been any other news to reach her poor family that could have been worse. She still could not believe he had been taken from them. From her. A car accident, they had said.

"Accident," she thought with a scoff.

Such a horrible word to describe something that had been so profound. It was not as though a dish had been broken due to clumsiness. And yet with a similar finality of it, rendered to pieces, never to be whole again, such was the same with their family.

Catching sight of the familiar red ribbon she had tied around a tree when she was ten, the year when she had first stumbled upon 'her place', Sakura realized that she had arrived at her destination.

Pushing that final thought away, Sakura prayed that peace would take her. Shifting the last branch aside, her green eyes washed over the familiar scenery.

Before her stood the ruins of an old house. Surrounded by a grand garden that had long ago become wild, taking over the landscape, filled with various wooden benches and marble statues. At least what remained of them. Many had limbs missing. Others showed the obvious effects that time and the element had caused them.

In the very middle of the garden stood a tall weeping angel. One wing half gone, the other badly damaged. Vines and dirt wrapping around the remaining limbs, encasing it in an earthy outfit. This particular statue had been Sakura's favorite for many years.

The garden had changed little in the four years since she had first come here. Seeing it now eased her mind. Giving a gentle sigh, Sakura made her way toward her usual bench and sat before the angel. Staring up into its face, she felt a new sense of connection to it. Paying no mind to the slow drizzle that had begun, Sakura allowed herself to become lost in thought.

It could not have been more than mere moments when the snapping of a twig forced her to focus on her surroundings. Turning her emerald green gaze from the angel, she fixed her sight on the bushes that the sound seemed to have originated from. The very place she had arrived through not long ago, and the only way in or out of the overgrown entanglement of a garden. Peering at the area momentarily, she found nothing out of the ordinary.

Sakura was ready to dismiss it as nothing more than a small animal searching for shelter from the rain when another snap was heard, followed quickly by a shuffle and muffled curse she was sure her mother would not approve of.

Sakura's mind quickly raced back to what her mother had said the night before about the recent gang problems the road to Konoha had been having lately.

"How could I have been stupid enough to not remember this and leave the house anyway?" she thought, scolding herself. "Coming here is not worth what may happen if they find me."

Quickly scanning the ground around her, she spots a nearby rock nearly the size of her palm. Moving swiftly, Sakura stooped over and circled her fingers around her makeshift weapon.

Shifting into a better position she mumbled quietly to herself, "Well, they won't take me without a fight." And then quieter in a breathy whisper "Please protect me papa."

Eyes fixed on the small bushes she waited apprehensively until a tall raven-haired man pushed their way through and into the garden. Sakura barely heard the stranger speak into his phone before she gave a silent prayer, took aim and released her meager weapon.

Almost as though time had slowed, Sakura watched as the rock solidly met the stranger's temple. The surprise of the hit brought a low grunt to escape his mouth and caused him to lose his footing, stumble and fall backward. The force of his backside meeting the unmoving earth beneath him wiggled another sound to pass his lips. This time it was a whooshing sound, leading her to believe that the breath had been knocked from him. The phone fell from it's rumpled owners hand, falling into a nearby puddle with a great splash. Then, with time quickly catching up to the events, he laid there on the wet ground, unmoving.

Sakura's whole expression gave way to stunned wonder as she stared at the unconscious man. Wide-eyed and open-mouthed she breathed in relief, "I - I actually hit him!"

Refocusing on the fact that he would not be waking for at least a few more minutes, she shuffled to the bushes. Intent on making her escape as quickly as she could. As Sakura attempted to sidle around the guy without touching him, she unthinkingly glanced down at him, and for the first time, really took in his appearance.

Lowly gasping, Sakura paused her movements and stared at the handsome man before her. Unbidden a single thought came to her, "No way delinquents should have faces like these?"

Emerald eyes fixed on his face, Sakura gazed at him. He had a chiseled face accompanied with a strong jaw. Free from any signs of deep age she deducted that he wasn't yet a man and could have been about the same age as her. Dark raven hair framed his face perfectly though signs of blood had appeared and coated the locks where her rock had hit. Trailing her eyes downward she found broad shoulders wrapped nicely in a deep blue, elegantly cut jacket. Now almost completely covered in mud.

Lips pursing, she tisked, very much like her mother would when she or her brothers would ruin good clothes during play, "He'll never be able to get all that mud off. Especially with the fabric being so nice and-"

Trailing her words Sakura peered intently at the muddy garment she had just been evening. The fabric was indeed nice. Exceedingly so. It was the type one would find in only the best shops. Bought only by those that had ridiculous amounts of money to spare and spend as they'd like.

Sakura's eyes widened slowly as she realized the still unconscious man was not a who she had once thought and instead was most likely the sort that an actual gang member would set his sights on. Meaning she had clobbered a perfectly innocent stranger with that silly rock she threw.

Alerted by the low groan below her, she watched as her gang man turned innocent began to rouse. Quietly, she repeated the curse she had heard him speak before, thinking it accurately fit the situation.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters here. Unfortunately. I do own the plot though :D Hope you enjoy.

Pain.

That was the first thing to register in Uchiha Sauske's mind.

Raising his hand with a groan, he lightly brushed the the offending spot that had his head ringing. A cold, gritty substance left behind by his fingers caused him to furrow his brow in confusion. Opening his eyes he saw only a blurry mess of what should be a hand. Blinking twice, Sauske forced his sight to focus and again tried to examine his hand.

Mud. But how the hell had he managed to get mud on his hands? And what was that tinge of red mixed in the mud? Blood. Well that explained why was his head was throbbing as though he'd just had a fist fight with Naruto. By the way he felt he had to of lost. Like that would ever happened. Sighing, he hoped that there hadn't been many to witness his loss. He didn't even want to imagine what his father would say if he found out he'd been anything less than what an Uchiha was meant to be.

The sudden sound of crunching gravel above his head gave way to new knowledge that there was indeed a person there to see him in his lack of composure.

"Wonderful." He thought with a groan, shutting his eyes for a mere moment. Gathering what strength was needed to get him through this encounter.

Opening his eyes anew, Sauske was met with, not by the smiling face of his blonde-haired friend, but the face of a girl with pink hair. Thinking that his sight had been effected more than he thought, he squeezed his eyes shut once more. Again he is given the image of the unknown girl. As he readies himself to question her, he's beaten to the point when she speaks first.

"Are you all right?" she asked softly?

Guilt flashing across her eyes, a color he couldn't determine with his current haziness. she continued "I am so, so sorry. I - I thought you were someone else and I honestly only meant to protect myself. But really I can't be entirely to blame. You did startle me after all."

As her ramblings continued Sauske slowly pushed himself up onto his elbows, carefully minding the aching back he was now aware of that went along with the splitting skull he'd been given.

He really shouldn't have been surprised that something like this would happen to him. The day so far had little to show in any positive way. First he had to deal with the antics of his brother, Itachi. When he had refused to take on the duties as the Uchiha heir, their father, Fugaku, immediately forced them onto Sauske. Since then, any interaction with his older brother rubbed him the wrong way. Today wouldn't have been so bad, but he knew his father wanted to see him and that always set him off on the wrong foot.

Of course when Sauske arrived upon his father's wishes he was greeted by the usual candid attitude of both president of Uchiha Corp. and the head of house. Once again Sauske was forced to listen as his father chided him on his spendings and what he did with his time. Telling him he needed to be sure to maintain his role as top of the class and to excel in sports. On top of all that, Fugaku also expected Sauske to attend mandatory meetings that would 'better prepare' him for his time as president.

But why the hell did he have to do that now? His father was still young, meaning it was highly unlikely that he would be inheriting any time soon. "As well it should be," he thought. The only thing he truly needed to do now at his age of seventeen was enjoy life. Not be shackled down by responsibility not yet his.

The girl's worried voice pulled him back to the situation at hand. Forcing him to partake in the unraveling events already taking place.

She seemed hesitant. "Hey. Hey, are you all right?"

She looked so worried that he felt compelled to answer her.

Opening his mouth, he nearly spoke, but paused when he noticed the guilt that seemed to wash off of her. He peered intensely. Surely he was mistaken. What could she possibly have to feel guilty about?

His answer was given a moment later when she continued her rambles.

Wringing her hands she spoke again. "I realize that you may be feeling a bit... out of sorts at the moment, but you really should try moving from that puddle before you catch a cold."

Those last words of hers struck true and compelled him to act. It would already be a disaster if his mother managed to see him in his current state. The Uchiha matriarch would mean well of course but at his age the coddling would do no more than become an irritating itch one couldn't scratch. No, it would be much better to put her worrying and over-abundant love to his brother.

Rising slowly onto his elbows, Sauske tenderly cradled his wounded head. Wishing the pain would abate soon. Feeling a wash of dizziness overcome him, he waited another moment before he finally spoke.

He peeked upward, attempting a roguish smile. "Mind helping a wounded guy to his feet?"

She hesitated only a moment before she moved closer to his side. Crouching, for what she hoped would be a brief moment in the mud beside him. "I'm not sure how much help I can be, but I owe it to you to try."

Sliding one petite arm around his torso for support, the other helped guide one of his to rest on her shoulders. Together they managed to return him properly to his feet. He nearly reached for his cell when she surprised him by taking the initiative. Stooping down again, she grabbed his phone then proceeded to lead him toward a nearby bench.

Moving slowly, Sauske couldn't help but take notice of the way her body felt against his. Gentle curves that moved innocently beside him. Occasionally pressing into his side. If his head hadn't been throbbing he might have experienced a different kind of discomfort. He couldn't ever remember when the last time he had been this close to a girl, close enough to smell the flowery perfume that had previously been masked by the rain, in such an innocent way was. The cheery blossom scent only added to her growing appeal.

Finally they he managed to settle himself on the bench with her perched precariously beside him.

A brief sigh escaped his lips. "You don't have to be afraid of me. With this pounding in my head, it's very unlikely I will be doing anything to you that you have to be afraid of."

He watched as a pretty blush formed on her cheeks, feeling the tiniest urge to tease her. If only to see if the pink would darken to a deeper color.

She lowered her eyes, focusing on a bit of fabric by her side. "Thanks, I guess. But I wasn't thinking that you would."

Even to him that sounded like a poor excuse.

Pulling a thing of tissue, from what he now realized was a purse, she refocused her gaze on his face. Unasked, she reached for his face with both hands. Cradling his cheek with one hand while the other intently worked on cleaning the blood. He tried waving her hands away, assuring her that he didn't need tending to, but she stubbornly continued on.

With nothing else to do, Sauske roamed his eyes over the girl before him. She was plain compared to the most of the beauties he had met in his life. She graced an oval face with lips that were a touch too full for his tastes, an average nose and apple cheeks that had returned to their natural shade. Eyes that he now knew to be emerald were framed under a set of arched eyebrows, that did not meet the fashion of late. While many girls had taken to sporting tiny wisps, some having them painted on, hers were full and delicately arched. Pink hair gently curled at her nape and cheeks where it had escaped from her the bun she had put it in. If it hadn't been for the uncommon pink hair, he doubted that he would have given her much thought at all.

Completely aware of his scrutiny, her cheeks once again flushed a pretty pink. Had it been any other time he would have played the gentleman that he had been taught to him since birth. It wasn't any other time, however, and so he did not look away. Instead, he held his gaze and tried to fit the puzzling events into place.

"You said that you were sorry earlier. Why's that?"

Startled by his voice, Millicent's hand jerked just barely, though enough to aggravate the head wound she had just been tending, causing a small hiss to reach her ears.

She gave a meek apology. "Well you see, I'm kinda the one that threw the rock at you."

Flicking her gaze to the gate for a brief moment, she went on to further explain what had happened. "You scared me. No one by me comes here and I had heard that there were ... unsavory sorts acting out around here lately."

She lowered the bloody tissue from his brow. "I did the only thing I could think of. Grabbed a nice looking rock and waited for the right time to throw."

Not even bothering to cover the agitation he felt from her story, he frowned. "Why not just run away? That seems a far better solution than the one you came to."

"The gate you entered from is the only way in or out. I couldn't have ran even if I had wanted to. Not unless I wanted to run into some guy that may have been carrying a knife on him." Raising a hand, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I really am sorry, but throwing the rock and hoping for it to stall you was the only thing I could think of that I had a chance of working."

Sauske sighed. "I suppose, given the facts, that was the best option you had."

He gave a slight grin toward her. "Even if that thing nearly maimed me."

Changing his tone once again he returned to frowning at her. "But if you knew there could be trouble why the hell did you come here in the first place?"

Feeling like the foolish child he acted like he was speaking to. Sakura lowered her gaze and fixed it on her the tissue instead. Twisting it around her finger she murmured a quiet, embarrassed answer. Too quiet for him to make out.

Sauske cocked his head to the side, leaning closer to her to better hear. "What was that?"

In a louder voice meant to better appease him, she repeated herself. Though she still did not lift her gaze to meet his.

"I said that I had forgotten."

Disbelief clearly began to show on his face. He blinked twice. Sure that he had heard her wrong.

"You forgot?"

Sheepishly she nodded her head.

A scowl now forming on his face, Sauske stood. "You mean you hit me because you were dumb enough to not remember something as important as gang members being out here?"

Feeling defensive, she frowned back at him. Finally looking him in the eyes. "Well I'm sorry that I had other things on my mind. How about you stop acting all high and mighty. That whining is getting a bit old too."

Sakura knew she should stop. Each word out of her mouth had him scowling more and more. If looks could kill, she had no doubt she would be lying dead in that puddle right now. But, an angry Sakura is not always a smart Sakura. She kept talking.

"So I hit you with a tiny rock. Boo-freaking-hoo. It's not like you have a concussion or anything. I doubt you'll even get a scar."

Annoyed, Sauske stood as swiftly as he could without agitating the dizziness. "Whatever. I don't have time for this."

"Tch. Annoying." He scoffed. With that, he turned his back to her and headed toward the gate, intent on finding the solace he had been seeking earlier.

Crossing her arms over her chest with a frown, Sakura watched him walk away.

"What an ass. I hope I never see him again."


End file.
